Do i need to read the book itself (the philosophy of freedom) while taking this course? or does the course stand in itself? -F

An illustated edition of The Philosophy Of Freedom is within the course and also on the website download page, along with other editions of the book.
Tom

I was wondering since Steiner wanted us to be so free and to make our own way in the world. Why is it the waldorf education it seems as if the children are clones of one another? Not really free spirits, just products of their environment. -A

My children went to Waldorf schools though I am not real knowledgable on Waldorf education. Freedom develops according to stages. The ideal goal of the Waldorf curriculum is supposed to support a child's development toward freedom according to age appropriate activity.

A young child hasn't developed the ability to think yet, so they are mainly perceiving beings. What they are perceiving is their environment, so the environment is very important to the child's development at that stage. They also are too young to develop real individuality yet, so they are more dependent upon social conformity. As far as the right balance between freedom and conformity for your child, that is an ongoing struggle parents have in raising children. As a parent I seemed to suffer everyday over that question.

True freedom originates out of free thinking. This is something only adults can achieve who have a fully grown brain. The Philosophy Of Freedom is for adults who want to further develop their thinking beyond the normal everyday kind. -Tom

Is stillness of mind an example of pure thinking? I'm not sure because it seems like i'm not thinking at all. It just seems like an empty stage. -J

We know that our mind can be out of focus. We know that an unfocused mind experiences a flow of often unwanted thoughts. We know you can observe something and not think. Some people like to practice non-thinking or the "empty stage" as you say. We have the freedom to think or not. When we think we direct our attention upon something and produce concepts that correspond to what we are thinking about. Pure thinking has content, it is thinking in pure concepts, it isn't an empty stage.

How can you take a quiz at the end of each section of the study course if the quizzes are at the end of the course and there is no easy way to get to them except by scrolling page by page? -G

That is a problem. The scrolling is slow the first time through as the program makes you stop at each slide. After that, the scrolling is fast, as you will no longer have to stop at the slides. I had the quizzes at the end of each chapter in my first course attempt, but many people didn't want to take the quiz. So I put them at the back as an option.

Can it all come down to meditation as the way to freedom, in thinking being and living? -J

Rather than meditation, I would use the term thinking contemplation. The key to free action is having developed the capacity of moral intuition, which involves using the ability to think freely without preconceptions and bias (pure thinking) to select the moral principle to be applied in a particular case from your whole world of ideas. (see chapter 13.0 MORAL IMAGINATION) This can be tried just by sitting down and reflecting upon the ethics of a decision that needs to be made. This ability can be further developed so it can work more quickly in the moment you need an answer.

With this key element in mind you could say it comes down to thinking being and living.

POF 10.4 when all other grounds that determine action take second place, then we rely, in the first place, on conceptual intuition itself. All other motives now drop out of sight, and the ideal content of an action alone becomes its motive.

POF 10.5 For such an action to be possible, we must first be capable of moral intuitions. Whoever lacks the capacity to think out for himself the moral principles that apply in each particular case, will never rise to the level of genuine individual willing.

Is pure thinking when you meditate and think of nothing and everything is blank and still in your mind, not letting other thoughts come into your mind at that moment? -J

POF Chapter 4 THOUGHT AS THE INSTRUMENT OF KNOWLEDGE explains thinking and pure thinking.

The first step in thinking is focus --but focus upon something, which can be an object or a past thought.

POF 4.3 As long as I think about the object, I am absorbed in it, my attention is turned on it. To be thus absorbed in the object is to contemplate it by thought.

Can you be a free human being and be a member of the church of jesus christ
of latterday saints (the Mormons)  -J

Most Western religions believe that God gave the human being free will, otherwise you can't have moral responsibility, meaning without having freedom you can't be held responsible for your acts. The free thinking and free morality in the Philosophy Of Freedom means to know, rather than to have blind faith, and to act out of knowledge. It is more concerned with the process of how you arrive at knowledge (free thinking) and why you act (free deed) than what you know or what you do. Rather than accepting what you are told you examine it and arrive at your own conclusion. So in that sense you could be an atheist (atheists have principles too) or religious. After you act you can examine the results to see if it was actually "good or bad".

Freedom is to live according to your highest ideals, because that is the only way you can live to your highest potential and love life. -T

What is the difference between thinking of the soul and thinking of the spirit? Steiner said:... the spirit is experienced directly in the act of intuitive thinking. Only in that moment? What about our daily thoughts? -R

I relate an experience of the spirit in my thinking as a moment of “insight”. The flash of mental clarity that is filled with life and can occur at any time. While this experience can occur at any time the Philosophy Of Freedom is a study of the thinking process to set the right conditions so that this experience will occur more often.

In Chapter 6 OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD a distinction is made between the foggy lack of focus state and the willful effort state to focus on a thing or theme and think about it. We have the choice to think or not think. Daily thoughts can be a stream of unconnected thoughts, but at any moment we can focus our thoughts and begin willful thinking. By means of intuitive thinking we experience truth by penetrating deeply into the phenomena of the world. This willful thinking can move to pure conceptual thinking (intuitive thinking) where intuitive insight is more likely to occur.

It is in Chapter 6 OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD where the topic of intuition is discussed in regard to science and in chapter 10 THE IDEA OF FREEDOM where it is discussed in regard to ethics. Chapter 6 is about how to discover the conceptual intuition that corresponds to the world and Chapter 10 is about the moral intuition.

Slide Number 27 of 279
Question 8.11 when Steiner says that "..we believe that we can understand the situation well enough from a sufficiently large number of instances..this is called in inductive inference", I don't know if he means that this is a wrong attitude to be taken by us or that it is indeed the right one, or should I figure it out for myself. -S
REPLY Wrong or right may not be the best question to apply to POF. I compare the different views in a chapter and try to learn from all of them. You can compare Monsm to making an Inductive Inference.He is describing two ways of gaining knowledge. Chapter 8 discusses the process of cognition, the combining of the perception with the concept to get the complete reality. Monism combines the sum of perceptions (facts) and their conceptual connections (laws). By knowing the laws at work you have gained knowledge of the event without the need of further perceptions.

With Inductive Inference you study the effects and try to discover the underlying cause. It says that your results will be only relatively true, since it is subject to correction by further instances. “anything inferred from past percepts will be somewhat modified by each subsequent percept” This doesn't sound like you have discovered the core principle (cause).

Say you were trying to understand a person. You draw your conclusion about the person based on the few times you were with them. Each time you were with them again, you would get to know them better. But if you knew the universal laws of human behavior that applied to them, as a psychologist would try to do, you would know them better with less observations than the person getting to know them by inductive inference alone.

Slide Number: 28 of 279
Question Regarding the "exceptional state" Steiner refers to..am I being right in assuming that a positive effect in me or my life should manifest itself if I indeed engaged in this kind of observation of thinking?

(POF 4.7) For everyone who has the ability to observe thought --and with good will every normally constituted person has this ability -- the observation of thought is the most important observation that can be made.
It requires effort and taking the time to do it like exercising, so it could bring some discomfort. POF goes on and on as to how important "thinking" is, so how can we improve our thinking if we aren't aware of it or don't examine it?

You are touching on what may be the most important question concerning the promotion of Rudolf Steiner's path to freedom. How does Rudolf Steiner's idealistic humanism benefit my life? So few people know about this path and apply Steiner's principles (as I say, in a conscious way out of the book, which will accelerate progress) that we don't have the testimonials proclaiming the good results. Or maybe those who have, don't have a vehicle to express themselves. I am hoping to gather testimonials from those who do the study course and strive to apply the principles. You have to learn them first.

I apply the principles everyday, as it really is a practical book once you learn how to translate principles into action (how to do this is discussed in the book). This of course involves being aware of your thoughts and thinking processes. Someone observing me and comparing me to traditional standards would likely be unimpressed. An ethical individualist would not likely conform to the built up image of the traditional "spiritual" person held by others, unless one knew what to look for. The ethical individualist wouldn't likely be trying to impress anyone, as a traditionalist must do to maintain applause from their group. False humility isn't necessary. I am able to gather the facts, do the research to learn about the field involved, select the relevant ethical principle, and imaginatively translate this principle into specific action that works in the specific situation and usually predict the results. I am completely self-motivated, and doing exactly what I love doing. When drifting off the mark it is not difficult to identify why. I can say I am on the path indicated in the newest title of POF: Intuitive Thinking As A Spiritual Path.

In addition to new knowledge and thought training, The Philosophy of Freedom brings into consciousness and puts into a cohesive order many things you already know and abilities you already have allowing you to operate at a higher level. -T